A. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to robotic surgical devices, and more particularly to a robotic surgical device for using in laparoscopic surgery which includes two robotic arms and a respective gripping tool each reproducing the natural movements of the human arm.
B. Description of the Related Art
The laparoscopic surgery systems available today including a robotic arm, have limited degrees of movement, which are reduced to simulate only some movements of the human wrist.
Said limited degree of movements limit the number of maneuvers that can be done during a surgery. Furthermore, the device that is introduced in the patients body normally have only one robotic arm at a distal portion, and since some procedures such as tissue cutting or suture procedures need at least two robotic arms, it is necessary to practice two or more incisions in patient's body in order to introduce an additional arm having a corresponding gripping tool thus complicating the whole surgery procedure.
Consequently, surgeons are required to take a training procedure which may take a time of one year in order to be qualified to operate a specific device.
There have been developed some devices which try to address the above referred problem such as U.S. patent application No. US2005/0096502, which describes “a robotic surgical device configured for performing minimally invasive surgical procedures. The robotic surgical device comprises an elongated body for insertion into a patient's body through a small incision. In one variation, the elongated body houses a plurality of robotic arms. Once the distal portion of the elongated body is inserted into the patient body, the operator may then deploy the plurality of robotic arms to perform surgical procedures within the patient's body. An image detector may be positioned at the distal portion of the elongated body or on one of the robotic arms to provide visual feedback to the operator of the device. In another variation, each of the robotic arms comprises two or more joints, allowing the operator to maneuver the robotic arms in a coordinated manner within a region around the distal end of the device”.
Although the above referred device provides two parallel robotic arms, it doesn't describe a detailed implementation of the robotic arms for the device nor a specific preferred embodiment for a robotic arm including a specific number of joints, driving means, etc.
Therefore, applicant's developed a specific implementation of a robotic surgical device for using in laparoscopic surgery, including two robotic arms each having at least six joints providing a total of fourteen degrees of movement that accurately reproduce the movements of a human torso complete with arms.
Applicant's device includes a torso, two superior extremities each having a shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and “hand”.
Since applicant's device simulates the movements of the upper human extremities, it is easier for the surgeon to control the device since it can be maneuvered using the same movements learned during the standard training.